1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to systems for leaching liquid waste, particularly waste water. More particularly this invention relates to a specially designed cylindrical conduit or pipe for use in leaching systems. Even more particularly the invention relates to cylindrical conduit which has specially configured ridges, channels and grooves over which may be laid or wrapped, either single or multiple layers of fabric. And further the corrugated pipe disclose herein may have slots or slits or V-grooves in and on the various portions of the pipe such as the outer-facing surface of the ridges, the end portion of the ridges, on any or all surfaces forming the channels between the ridges, the side wall(s) of the groove or through the bottom portion of the groove, the valleys, and any combination of the above listed possibilities. Such slits, slots or V-grooves may be used with fabric or without fabric covering of the pipe and with or without the apertures in the valley portion of the corrugated pipe. Additionally, slits, slots, V-grooves may be used with smooth-walled pipe as opposed to corrugated types of pipe. In each instance, the pipe may be used to effectively process effluent in a leaching system.
The cylindrical conduit disperses moisture away from the conduit through capillary action, wicking into a surrounding material. A perforated cylindrical conduit is one method permitting wicking. The surrounding material provides capillary action to transmit moisture away from the cylinder and prevents the effluent from traveling directly from the pipes of the upper level to the conduits of the lower levels. Examples of these materials include sand, gravel, plastic fibers, wood products, slag, and ash. A fabric or other material may surround the cylindrical conduit. For septic systems, this includes any gravel-less systems such as the SB2, Enviro-Septic(copyright) and Geo-Flow(copyright) brands of gravel-less septic waste processing systems. Other applications of this invention include treatment of oil-contaminated water and chemically contaminated water, in addition to septic tank effluent.
Even more particularly, the invention is particularly useful in combination with the septic tank maze apparatus defined and described in Applicant""s U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,752 Issued Jul. 4, 1995 and incorporated herein by reference, and with the use of multiple layers of fabric of varying deniers. With the selection of fabric, fabric properties such as denier, thickness, retention quality such as hydrophobic or hydrophihc characteristics, specific fluid treatment objectives can be met. The multilayer fabric provides boundaries/interfaces and regions within which specifically chosen bacteria, chemicals, microbes and the like may be introduced to facilitate the biodegradation of specifically chosen undesirable materials. The performance of the conduit of the invention is further improved over the currently known leach fields when it is used in combination with single or multiple layers of fabric covering.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many drainage pipes are produced from plastic materials, either by extrusion or blow molding, with the pipe being cut into lengths or rolled on a large drum to be carried in the field. To obtain high rigidity and maximum utilization of material, such drainage pipes are commonly corrugated with the corrugations extending circumferentially around the pipe. Corrugated plastic pipe is widely used for many types of domestic, agricultural, and industrial drainage and waste disposal systems.
Preferably, drainage holes are positioned in the wall of the inner corrugation so that, when the pipe is ultimately buried in the earth, the drainage holes are not packed as tightly as would be the case if they were positioned in the outer corrugation. Having the perforations on the inner corrugation facilitates drainage from the pipe, but, for obvious reasons, complicates the formation of the perforations.
It would be advantageous to have corrugated pipe with grooves which are deeper and which grooves have sidewalls which are substantially perpendicular to the bottom surface of the groove and perpendicular to the outer or top surface of the pipe. Because of the manner in which such pipe is perforated at the bottom surface of the grooves it has not been possible to make such a desirable corrugated pipe as taught herein. Applicant""s U.S. Pat. No. 5,606,786 Issued Mar. 4, 1997 and incorporated herein by reference, for xe2x80x9cApparatus and Method for Producing Pipe and Pipe Produced Therebyxe2x80x9d teaches a machine and method for producing such desirable pipe.
It should be further pointed out that suspended solids have plagued the septic system and waste water treatment industry more in the last ten (10) or more years than in previous years. The increase in the problem is due in part to the evolution and development of some of the modem day cleaners which now make cleaning easier in that they cause grease and oil to dissolve into the water. The major problem with the septic tank is that the suspended solids in passing through the tank neither cool nor make contact at a slow enough pace to separate from the water.
Lint and fuzz has also been an ongoing problem for the septic tank to control. This material stays suspended in the septic tank liquid and normally passes through, remaining suspended in the effluent which subsequently also causes problems in the leach system connected with the septic tank.
Septic tanks generally available do not effectively provide for the removal, in a manner which does not effect the cost and the performance characteristics of the septic treatment system, of suspended solids that are typically found in septic tank liquid. It is important that the amount of suspended solids that leave the treatment tank be minimal so as not to adversely affect the subsequent treatment of the waste water/effluent. A leach field, for example, is adversely effected because the suspended solids will clog receiving layer and also adversely affect the absorption characteristics of the leach bed.
Currently there are designs and equipment that attempt the removal of the suspended solids. All of those known to the inventor of the now patented precipitation apparatus defined in U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,752 have failed to address the problem in an efficient manner because all the efforts attempt to xe2x80x9cfilterxe2x80x9d the liquid. Filtration creates an additional set of problems. The filters can quickly become plugged slowing down or completely blocking the flow through of the liquid through the treatment tank. The filters are expensive and are costly to maintain. Applicant""s patented precipitation apparatus greatly reduces the level of suspended solids exiting the treatment tank and entering the leach system.
It would be advantageous to have a treatment system which would include a leach system which would, more efficiently and effectively process the leachate or effluent from the septic tank or precipitation apparatus. The obvious consequences of such an improved fluid conducting conduit structure for use within a drainage field, would be longer life, less area needed to handle a specific amount of outflow of liquid and a cleaner and safer treated liquid returning to the environment. The improved fluid conducting conduit structure defined and claimed herein provides these advantages without a large increase in cost, does not require any additional maintenance and, in fact, requires less maintenance, is incorporatable into standard treatment designs and configurations, would be easily installed as new or replacements into existing and in-place leach fields and would provide flexibility to incorporate a variety of specially designed uses to result in a custom system based upon special or specific needs within the treatment system.
There is nothing currently available which satisfies these needs and objectives. However, the invention disclosed herein does meet all of these objectives.
The following patents relate to the technology of the present invention but none of them meets the objects of the disclosed and claimed improved system in a manner like that of the instant invention. Additionally none are as effective and as efficient as the instant improved conduit system.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,976,578 to Beane discloses a protective sleeve for corrugated drainage tubes. The protective sleeve is a continuous tubular sleeve of knit fabric material which is slipped over one or more sections of corrugated flexible drainage pipe and acts as a filter to keep rocks, dirt, mud, pieces of clay, and the like from clogging the openings in the corrugated drainage pipe while allowing the water to pass through. Disclosed is a knit fabric preferably formed by lock stitches and is inherently elastic.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,665 to Caouette discloses a fabric wrapped corrugated structure. The fabric wrapping comprises an outer fabric combined with a grid mesh separation element. It is disclosed that the fabric may be of the woven or non-woven type and that the fabric may be bonded to the grid mesh. Further, Caouette discloses that the grid mesh may take many different forms as long as one set of cross members or other members such as dimples on a planar structure or fibrous material provides some separation of the fabric above the peaks of the corrugated pipe.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,832 to Gonczy et al. discloses a multilayer insulation blanket used in heat transfer technology which can be wrapped around a structure. The Gonczy patent does not disclose the use of multilayer fabrics of varying deniers and does not disclose the liquid permeability of the multilayer blanket.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,288,321 to Beane discloses a drain tile and a pile fabric filter sleeve. The knit fabric of the ""321 patent to Beane is provided over the drainage conduit to facilitate efficient liquid flow. The knit fabric is also impregnated with suitable chemical agents for counteracting anticipated chemical reaction particle intrusions. The knit fabric is further disclosed to be formed of stitches defining a ground and defining terry loops extending from the ground and being directed in a predetermined generally radial direction relative to the longitudinal axis of the drainage conduit.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,904,113 to Goddard et al. discloses a highway edgedrain. The edgedrain comprises a tube inserted into a fabric sheath. The fabric sheath of the ""113 patent is preferably of a nonwoven fabric and of a geotextile composition. The sheath acts a filter to prevent the passage of large particles or rocks into the tube. Further the sheath is disclosed as being made from a material of a single density.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,778 to Dempsey discloses a drainage mat. Most significantly, the ""778 patent discloses a drainage material with extended surface which is a two-layer composite of polyester non-woven filter fabric heat bonded to an expanded nylon non-woven matting such as ENKADRAIN(trademark) brand of three-dimensional composite.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,427 to Kambe et al. discloses a hydrophobic material used for drainage of a culvert. The ""427 patent discloses a textile or knit fabric having large and small mesh portions.
The patents noted herein provide considerable information regarding the developments that have taken place in this field of technology. Clearly the instant invention provides many advantages over the prior art inventions noted above. Again it is noted that none of the prior art meets the objects of the sewage pipe as used in septic and waste water treatment in a manner like that of the instant invention. None of them are as effective and as efficient as the instant combination of multilayered fabric and corrugated pipe combination for use in the management of effluent drainage systems.
While simply the use of the pipe as taught in the present disclosure provides many advantages over the currently known and commonly used corrugated pipe, the additional use of multilayers of fabric provides one with the advantage to have a medium for different types of bacteria to collect on and break down on as well as divide them by particle size. All prior systems have structures with members which are pressed tightly against the pipe itself, causing shadowing to take place where the fabric touches the pipe or the members. By using multilayers of fabrics starting with the very coarse denier working down to a fine denier, one is able to alleviated all of the shadowing effect which has never before been achieved. At the same time, larger particles are being sorted or separated from smaller particles, allowing the bacteria in the effluent to work more efficiently on these particles.
It is also important to note that with the use of the multilayer fabric, liquids will be diffused/dispersed without channeling the liquids in a forced direction adding considerably to the life of any septic system.
Some particular aspects of interest for the fabric wrapped corrugated pipe invention are:
1. Longer life and no shadow effects;
2. Less masking;
3. More storage and breakdown area within the fabric layers;
4. Different grades of bacterial area;
5. Different interfaces for bacteria;
6. The division of different types of material;
7. Less clogging;
8. Septic use and floor drain use;
9. May be used over valley with any material that gives spacing and may also be used over smooth wall pipe;
10. May be used on incoming/outgoing liquids, that is the process would work for liquid moving from within to without the pipe or moving from without to within;
11. Any pretreatment of surface or subsurface fluids to include trapping collecting or dispersing fluids into and out of the ground;
12. Fabric may be pretreated with chemical, bacteria and/or combinations such pretreatment may be specific for applications such as oil-spill or the like;
13. Multi-layered fabrics and different deniers and different thicknesses may be combined again to achieve specific functions;
14. Treating liquids on the inside, trapping things insidexe2x80x94different fabrics exhibit retaining properties relative to specific materials and likewise different materials have varying treatment properties for different substances such as oil and effluent;
15. At all of the interfaces of the multilayered fabric and at the interface of the fabric with the conduit surface and the soil, fluids are being treated in a progressive manner resulting in a treated fluid having an acceptable standard of quality.
16. May be used on corrugated or smooth-walled structures or any fluid-carrying structure that passes fluids through itself or through holes/slots/cuts over/under/through/around.
This invention most generally relates to a device/apparatus for using a multilayer fabric of varying deniers for the processing and treatment to fluids which must be treated to remove materials so that the resultant treated fluid may be reused and/or returned to the earth and particularly to the water table. More particularly the invention relates to the use of multilayer fabric, each layer being of selected denier, in combination with conduit, either smooth-walled or corrugated, in a drainage field or leaching system usually associated with a septic tank or system. Even more particularly, each layer of the multilayer fabric of varying deniers has a coarseness or denier different from the coarseness or denier of all adjacent layers, and may be wrapped around corrugated plastic pipe of the type well known in the field of drainage or leaching fields. Additionally, the fabric layers may be pretested with chemicals, bacterial, and/or microbes such as known oil digesting microbes in order to particularize the use of the apparatus in the processing or treating of fluids. Most particularly the invention relates to cylindrical conduit which has specially configured ridges, channels and grooves over which may be laid either single or multiple layers of fabric. And further the corrugated pipe disclosed herein may have slots or slits or V-grooves in and on the various portions of the pipe such as the outer-facing surface of the ridges, the end portion of the ridges, the side wall of the groove or through the bottom portion of the groove. The pipe may be used to effectively process effluent in a leaching system.
An object of the invention is to provide an apparatus easily and economically maintainable and which is effective to process liquid outflowing from a septic tank or treatment tank and cause the outflow liquid or effluent to be more efficiently and more effectively processed and the processed liquid returned to the ground water system.
A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which is easily and economically adaptable to meet specific design criteria which are based upon types and quantity of suspended solids found or expected in a treatment system and which, when in use, will increase the life expectancy of a leaching system and reduce the normal area of a leach system.
A still further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which because of its use reduces ground water contamination.
A yet still further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for use within a drainage field, which drainage field is in combination with disposal and irrigation systems used in treatment of fluids and dispersal of fluids, the structure comprising: corrugated conduit having an outer surface of a plurality of peaks and valleys and a plurality of perforations located circumferentially within each of the valleys. Each of the plurality of perforations provides flow communication from conduit interior to conduit exterior. There is also a first layer of fabric wrapped around the outer surface of the corrugated conduit; and at least one additional layer of fabric overlaying the first layer with, the first layer and each of the at least one additional layer of fabric having a predetermined denier and predetermined thickness. The predetermined denier of the first layer is greater than the predetermined denier of each of the additional layers of fabric and each of the additional layers has a denier different from each of the additional layer adjacent thereto. The predetermined denier and thickness is dependent upon the fluid being treated and dispersed and the drainage field size, composition and geometry. The first layer and the at least one additional fabric layers are formed from an unstructured assemblage of fibers. The unstructured assemblage of fibers is typically supported by an outer sheeting. Oils, greases and chemicals contained in the fluids to be treated and entering within the fluid conducting conduit structure are entrapped within at least one of the first layer and the at least one additional layer of fabric on the unstructured assemblage of fibers. The unstructured assemblage of fibers provides a surface area wherein consequent biodegradation of the oils, greases and chemicals takes place permitting treated fluid to pass omnidirectionally through the unstructured assemblage of fibers and subsequently leach into the ground.
A primary object of the invention is to provide an improved fluid conducting conduit structure for use within a drainage field, which drainage field is in combination with disposal and irrigation systems used in treatment of fluids and dispersal of fluids, using conduit having an outer surface and having a plurality of perforations in the outer surface to the interior or the conduit and located at predetermined locations along an axis of the conduit. The improvement comprises: a first layer of fabric wrapped around the outer surface of the conduit; and at least one additional layer of fabric overlaying the first layer with the first layer and each additional layer of fabric having a predetermined denier and predetermined thickness. The predetermined denier of the first layer is coarser than the predetermined denier of each additional layer of fabric. While the predetermined denier of the first layer is greater than the predetermined denier of each additional layer of fabric, each additional layer simply has a denier that is different from each additional layer adjacent thereto. The predetermined denier and thickness is dependent upon the fluid being treated and dispersed and the drainage field size, composition and geometry. At least one of the layers of the multilayer fabric is/are formed from an unstructured assemblage of fibers. The unstructured assemblage of fibers is supported by an outer sheeting. Oils, greases and chemicals contained in the fluids to be treated and entering within the fluid conducting conduit structure are entrapped within at least one of the first layers and at least one additional layer of fabric and particularly on the unstructured assemblage of fibers. The unstructured assemblage of fibers provides a large surface area whereon consequent biodegradation of the oils, greases and chemicals takes place, thereby permitting treated fluid to pass omnidirectionally through the unstructured assemblage of fibers and subsequently leach into the ground.
Another primary object of the invention is to provide the improved fluid conducting conduit structure with conduit which is plastic material.
Yet another primary object of the invention is to provide the improved fluid conducting conduit structure where the outer surface has a plurality of dents and detents spaced around outer surface resulting in a reduction of the outer surface area contacting the first layer of fabric.
A further object of the invention is to provide the improved fluid conducting conduit structure where at least one of the layers of fabric is pretreated with at least one composition selected from the group consisting of oil digesting microbes, Rid-X(copyright) brand of septic treatment by Reckitt and Coleman Inc., Drain Care Enforcer(copyright) Products, Inc. brand of septic tank treatment, K37 Roebic Septic Tank Treatment, K57 Cesspool Cleaner both by Roebic Laboratories, Inc.
A still further object of the invention is to provide the improved fluid conducting conduit structure for use within a drainage field using corrugated conduit having an outer surface of a plurality of peaks and valleys and having a plurality of perforations located circumferentially within each valley region. The corrugated conduit is preferably comprised of plastic material and wherein each of the peaks have a plurality of dents substantially equally spaced around each peak resulting in a reduction of outer surface area of the conduit contacting the first layer of fabric.
A particular object of the present invention is to provide a method for subterranean leaching and treating of outflow effluent from a septic system. The method for subterranean leaching comprises the steps of; wrapping corrugated conduit having a plurality of peaks and valleys and having a plurality of perforations located circumferentially within each valley region with a first layer of fabric, overlaying the first layer with at least one additional layer of fabric. The first layer and each one of the additional layers of fabric have a predetermined denier and predetermined thickness. The predetermined denier of the first layer is coarser than the predetermined denier of each additional layer of fabric. Any further layers each have denier or coarsenss levels different from the coarseness of adjacent layers. The covered corrugated conduit are then placed end-to-end connected within trenches positioned according to a specific design of a leaching field. Flow connection is provided between an outflow aperture of the septic system and an inflow aperture of the covered corrugated conduit. The entire structure is covered over with soil.
Another particular objective of the invention is to provide corrugated pipe specially configured with channels and ridges, deep sidewalls not quite perpendicular to the channels and ridges and to the base of the groove but the relatively steep angle adds strength to the pipe and does not negatively effect the flexibility of the pipe.
Yet another particular objective of the invention is to provide corrugated pipe specially configured as above but further having slots or slits or V-grooves or combinations of such perforations in and on the various portions of the pipe such as the outer-facing surface of the ridges, the end portion of the ridges, on any or all surfaces forming the channels between the ridges, the side wall(s) of the groove or through the bottom portion of the groove and any combination of the above listed possibilities. Such slits, slots or v-grooves may be used with fabric or without fabric covering of the pipe and with or without the apertures in the valley portion of the corrugated pipe. Additionally, slits, slots, v-grooves may be used with smooth-walled pipe as opposed to corrugated types of pipe. In each instance, the pipe may be used to effectively process effluent in a leaching system.
These and further objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains and after a study of the present disclosure of the invention.